(Chicago Sun-Times) On May 11, I attended a protest against genocide in and international ambivalence toward Darfur, Sudan. The protest, at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago, was organized by the spirit-filled St. Sabina Church under the dynamic leadership of the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger. Approximately 500 people from various backgrounds and six different religious institutions participated in the protest. The speeches were insightful and the crowd motivated; however, I couldn’t help wondering why there weren’t more participants. St. Sabina supposedly invited 150 religious’ institutions to the rally and a host of academic institutions.
More disturbing, however, was that not a single media outlet covered the event, as there was arguably a justified feeding frenzy in Zion. Notwithstanding, I don’t know if there was ever a time when so much attention was given to the killing of little black girls on the South and West sides.
Although a sizable number of people of various ages and professional affiliations attended the protest, based on Chicago’s tradition of notable black leadership, combined with the number of invitations that purportedly were sent out, hundreds or thousands more people should have attended the rally. Why did so few of Chicago’s churches, mosques and synagogues participate? Why do our religious, civic and political leaders, particularly those of national and international status, appear to be silent on the issue of genocide in Darfur? Most important, why have our most populous, visible and financially secure black churches in Chicago not taken a leadership role in organizing protests against the atrocities in Darfur?
Why has Sen. Barack Obama, who is of Kenyan ancestry and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Subcommittee on African Affairs, been shamefully quiet about genocide in Darfur? While he has co-sponsored two bills and spoken with President Bush about Darfur, to my knowledge Obama has not written any articles or issued any significant press releases or delivered any speeches on this issue or any other issue related to Africa. He has not posted any information on his Web site about what he has done or is doing on Darfur and Africa generally.
We need visible political and moral leadership, not simply legislative action, from Obama. Obama needs to realize that many of his constituents view this as a critical issue. Let me not comment about the lack of leadership of our other federally elected Illinois representatives on Darfur.
Chicago is home to the most visible and influential black leaders in the United States, yet there has been little outcry from them over Darfur and the scourge of conflict in Africa that has taken more than 6 million lives since the end of the Cold War. While I cannot claim to be a friend, fan or foe of any particular leader in Chicago, to my knowledge, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. have been the only nationally visible figures speaking out against the genocide and international ambivalence toward Darfur.
I understand that Chicago’s black leaders are busy with their own agendas, but I believe that human life, and particularly black life, is indivisible. I believe that black tragedy anywhere is black tragedy everywhere, and as former subjects of genocide, African Americans have a moral responsibility to fervently oppose genocide everywhere, irrespective of our political interests or otherwise. The Anti-Defamation League, which perhaps unfairly and routinely attacks Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan for being anti-Semitic, has done more to speak out against genocide in Darfur than most black activists and institutions in the city. Perhaps I am being a bit preachy, but I actually believe in the notion of being my brother’s keeper.
We need a “Millions More Movement” against genocide in Darfur. We need to “Keep Hope Alive” in Sudan and Congo-Kinshasa. We need not “Affirm the Greatness of Our Nation” when it fails to prevent and punish acts of genocide, nor claim there is “not a Black and White America” when we live in a color-conscious world where blacks are steadily at the bottom. If the black leadership in Illinois does not lead America to help attack evil in and ambivalence toward Africa, who will?
